severnside

We are in design phase of our renovation. Our current ground floor is suspended floor with 100 X 50 mm joists spaced around 350mm. This is sloping site with void ranging from 30cms to 160cms, so not possible to change to concrete. We would like to fit insulation between joists, ufh (spreader plates or Pre routed floorboard) and finally finish with tiles. We had discussed it with Architect technician and structural engineer, they believe joists are too thin to support tiles and their might be cracked tiles in future. Is there a way to improve strength of the floor to support tiles e.g. Ply instead of chipboard and overboarding with No More Ply before tiling? If changing joists to deeper one is the only option, how much would it cost for 80m2 ground floor. Thanks

Does anyone have experience of https://www.invisible.ac/ ? This seems to cover ventilation, heating, cooling, humidity control and works with Air to Air, Air to Water Heat Pumps. It would be good to know if someone has experience of them or know about cost. Their air handler unit should work with existing warm air ducts

@Gooman Just checking if you find some solution for this. Probably some system like this could connect to existing ducts https://www.orionairsales.co.uk/mitsubishi-electric-air-conditioning-pead-m100ja-ducted-concealed-inverter-heat-pump-10kw36000btu-r32-a-240v41550hz-9921-p.asp

We were quoted for 8.76kWp panels with Solar Edge inverter SE 6000H. The installer said these inverters can be configured to limit export to 3.68kWp. If I have load I can use all the capacity but if there is not sufficient load it will cap output to DNO limit

I contacted Johnson Starley about heat output using ASHP. They provided this graph, so at 40C water temp it would mean upgrading the Aquair unit. But ASHP could provide option for mixing with DHW and wet heating in extention. I am not sure how ASHP will work with multiple Zones requesting heat. E. G. Warm air in main house and UFH in extention both running off ASHP.

We found it easier to split responsibilities. There is a regular Oil Condensing Boiler which is called by thermostat when heating is needed. It works like it it's running regular wet Central heating. The air handling unit is controlled by water temperature. It starts when Water temp is 60 C and shut down at 42C. It also changes fan speed based on water temp. There is no external control to this unit other than power on Off. We would also be interested in a ducted air conditioning unit if you find something suitable. If it can mix some fresh air then it will cover MVHR function as well along with heating/cooling.

Will follow this thread with interest as we have similar system (Aquair S20 with Oil Boiler). So far we have been advised to move to wet heating system as not many people understand warm air systems. Johnson Starley literature for Aquair suggest it can be used with heatpumps, so it should be possible to replace the boiler with heatpump and run hot water pipes to Air handling unit. Issues I see with that - RHI payments are for wet system. Though this system is part wet, I am not sure if it will qualify - In Low temperature mode air handling unit starts at 33C and stop at 20 C (compare to high temp mode 60 start and 42C stop). Air moving closer to 20 might feel cooler than it is. It should be similar effect as using a ceiling fan (though not same air movement) - EPC rating people don't understand anything other than wet heating systems

Yes, it works like PV diverter. I am not sure you can use a normal diverter to power pod point because it might not work for short busts of power, there is some handshake protocol between charger and car. https://myenergi.de/produkte/zappi-wallbox/ Page 5 of instruction manual has a diagram for connection and it include Eddi in parallel

We got pod point installed at two houses. They split near the main meter and their fixed charges include a fixed length of cable. They charge extra for long cable or non standard installation. If we were to do it again we would look at Zappi as it can take advantage of solar generation. Regarding WiFi, our is slightly out of range but we don't use app for pod point. We use timer in car to charge during night.

Thanks for the input, this is sort of feedback I am looking for here. We are early in estimation, so far it's from internet searches

Thanks all for useful feedback. After more research it seems our budget of 120k is unrealistic, we would be happy if it can all be done under 200k. Our estimation so far - Approx 16 sqm fist floor extention (above existing GF Dining Room) for a bedroom with ensuite [£1500 per sqm, this is standard bedroom with ensuite on first floor] - Approx 45 sqm of single brick, no insulation outbuilding to be improved (insulation, damp proof) and integrated in main house [£700 per sqm, this good condition building need damp proof and insulation] - Approx 47 sqm of new glazing [£350 per sqm, minimum spec double glazing with different thickness of panes for acoustic performance] - New Kitchen/Diner with removal of internal load bearing wall [25k] - Update 2 Toilets [10k] - Approx 72 sqm of ground floor to change to underfloor heating and tiling [13k] - Heating system update, currently warm air system with oil boiler (3 year old) to underfloor heating downstairs and radiators upstairs [10k] - Whole house Rewire [10k] - MVHR, primarily for fresh air, house might not be very airtight to get energy efficiency benefit [3k DIY, if complicated to do downstairs, we will only do first floor] - Changing stairs position with new stairs [5k, nothing bespoke but something slightly better looking]

Apologies, I should have clarified. - Approx 16 sqm fist floor extention (above existing GF Dining Room) for a bedroom with ensuite This will not be floating, it will be on top of Dining room on Ground floor. Dining room is single storey on ground floor, rest of house is double storey. There is risk that we might need to underpin Dining room but we don't know that. @Olf I understand the current situation of material and trades shortage. We are not in rush and can wait for a bit to start. At this stage I am looking to understand if it will be £100+, £200+ or £300+

At this stage it would be a big help if I can get some sort of ball park figures. e.g. how much per sqm to improve an outbuilding (assume similar to garage), how much to rewire, new heating etc. If you have experience in certain area please do share some numbers. I fully understand it's difficult to estimate without full specification

I thought it should be cheaper than ground floor as it shouldn't need foundation, though there is risk if we need to underpin. What approx cost should I assume for such work 1500 per sqm? It's suspended floor, so insulation between joists, spreader plates and chipboard layered with tiles

I did some calculations yesterday and this is scope of work we are trying to achieve. It seems our budget of 120k might not be sufficient but I am trying to understand how much it might be to see if we can stretch or change scope significantly. Finished house will be 5 Bed, 3 toilets,1 downstairs W/C over approx 220 sq m. Work to be done. - Approx 16 sqm fist floor extention (above existing GF Dining Room) for a bedroom with ensuite - Approx 45 sqm of single brick, no insulation outbuilding to be improved (insulation, damp proof) and integrated in main house - Approx 47 sqm of new glazing - New Kitchen/Diner with removal of internal load bearing wall - Update 2 Toilets - Approx 72 sqm of ground floor to change to underfloor heating and tiling - Heating system update, currently warm air system with oil boiler (3 year old) to underfloor heating downstairs and radiators upstairs - Whole house Rewire - MVHR, primarily for fresh air, house might not be very airtight to get energy efficiency benefit - Changing stairs position with new stairs Thanks

Thanks for the suggestions. I will try to get quotes from 2-3 builders and can pay them if required. I understand quotes will vary from builder to builder, my aim is to see what I can fit in my budget of £120K. If it's +20K I can manage but if it's £240, £300 then I will need to cancel the project. In my friend's case they went to Architect with budget X, architect prepared a design they loved. When they went to build it costed 3X. We want to control this aspect as much as possible. I will try to calculate some work scope and post it here to do a basic check if it's realistic to expect so much work in our budget or not.

One person I know ended up spending 3 times the Architects estimates. That's the reason I am being cautious as we won't be able to complete if cost go double or triple of our estimate.

We are now at stage of agreed design with our Architect for our renovation. This project is cost bound, so we want to spend X amount of money with 20% contingency. The design is very good and meets all our requirements. However we are not sure if this will be within our budget or not. If not then we will amend the design and it's better to do it before planning permission. My question is how do we get a realistic estimate before planning permission and detailed design? I have spoken to few who have recently done projects and they mentioned that builders will only quote after detailed drawings. Architect is not fully sure if current design will be within budget. Architect also suggested that QS won't be suitable at this stage, a builder would provide realistic cost. Thanks

Thanks for the feedback, I did doubt that this might not be most efficient solution. The reason I considered this options is 1. It's solid and bigger ducting. Currently it heats our 250m2 house to 20C without any issue. Current air handling unit circulates 1200m3/h. 2. It should be quieter because of size 3. It's already there so no additional cost and disruption to install Some negatives as you pointed out - Extraction is not at optimal points, It's in hallway downstairs and upstairs. So moist stale air from Kitchen/Bathroom need to go via Hallway - Input is at floor level and extraction at wall level Also house won't be very airtight, though we will pay attention to any new work being done to good standard. We will also try to do less disruptive work like sealing plaster around perimeter from loft side and sealing any light fittings. So I guess I would be better off putting new ducts at ceiling level.

We are renovating our 1970s house, there are couple of things we need to resolve. One of them is ventilation. Currently house has warm air for heating which is working well but we will change it to UFH and radiators (First Floor). Warm air system has vents in every room (floor level) and 3 extraction vents at wall/ceiling level in hallway. This is solid ducts and designed for high airflow rate. Some Questions we have: - Could we reuse the ducting for MVHR by replacing the water to air heat exchanger unit with MVHR? - The MVHR unit will be going in cold garage, will this be OK? - Current vents are at floor level and it's OK for warm air as warm air rises. Will they work well for MVHR - I have read on forum that cooling via MVHR need higher flow rate, I believe this ducting should help achieve that but will probably need bigger MVHR unit

One of my colleague moved to 4G broadband from ADSL. He is getting 40+Mbps consistently. 4G modem with external antenna might provide a much better alternative to broadband these days.

We haven't used Sat/Terrestrial TV for last few years, our solution is an old Android phone as remote (with BBC iPlayer, All 4, Netflix, Prime Apps) and Chromecast. We are not planning to put any antenna or Coax cables in our upgrade, we will provision CAT5/6 to TV locations. There are many solutions now for IP https://tvplayer.com/uk/watch Chromecast Apple TV and other sticks If internet speed is a concern then a centralized network tuner might work if needed in future https://www.amazon.co.uk/Silicondust-HDHomeRun-CONNECT-Network-software/dp/B07BFPWBNS/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?dchild=1&keywords=Fire+TV+Recast&qid=1616675681&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEzODUwTFZLVlJCOVlRJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNTAxMzc4MzRMNVJVQUZUMzIyMCZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwMDI4NDkxM05LVjVINDRYSURTRyZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU= or Amazon solution when it comes to UK https://www.amazon.com/Fire-TV-Recast-over-the-air-DVR-500GB-75-hours/dp/B01J6A6H74 I work in this industry and there is a clear trend to move to IP. There is recognition of band width issues and lot of research is ongoing on better compression. You can now get reliable HD stream on ADSL.

@SteamyTea That's a good suggestion. Internal insulation and service void solves multiple problems in one go. We are still evaluating between EWI or IWI. EWI looks a good option since we have to render most of house but the detailing requirements make us nervous. The more I read about it more I realize that it's more dependent on our luck of getting a right person to do this job. I still can't find answers for things like how to change windows after EWI, ideally window will need changing in lifetime of EWI. But all the detailing around windows make it difficult not to damage insulation on windows refit. IWI looks less things to go wrong and should have longer life because it's not exposed to elements. But it's more disruption and we will loose some internal space. I read about condensation risk with IWI but hope it should be mitigated with an empty cavity. Thanks

Hi and thanks to everyone on this forum. I have been browsing through this site for quite a while and learnt a lot of new things. We have recently purchased a 4 Bed Detached house in a great location and now want to bring it upto modern specs. Lots of challenges and questions waiting - Upgrade thermal efficiency of house (Cavity wall no insulation, loft with 150mm and suspended floor) - Upgrade heating system, currently got a working warm air system - Rewire and upgrade electrics - Mini extention and layout change I have learnt a lot of things from this site and add them to plan - Focus on fabric. We will try to make any change to best thermal spec (within budget limits) - Radial heating setup using manifold - Radial wiring for lighting to add automation in future - Provision for MVHR, Automation, Solar and ASHP and add incremently as budget allow. Coming from software background I am thinking modular design to add in future but let's see how it works in real life. - Solar Divertor for DHW and Zappi for Nissan Leaf